Red Savage Ranch
by Kei-chan1
Summary: Ryuuen lives on a ranch. When his boss takes 4 out of control delinquents and brings them to the ranch, Ryuuen has to deal with more than just his horse. [shounen ai warning(The ever elusive chapter 3)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer:  As always, the characters of Fushigi Yuugi aren't mine... but the ones you've never heard of are!

Author's Note:  All right... dunno how many of you watch television, Suzaku knows I haven't watched much at all these past few months... but at the beginning of the fall there was a movie on Animal Planet called Hope Ranch.  This fic is based on the idea that the movie had.

Warnings:  Eventual shounen ai (you have been warned, dammit!) and Genrou language (he's got such a filthy little mouth, doesn't he?^_^)

Red Savage Ranch

By:  Kei-chan

Chapter I

As the sun rose above the distant mountains, life at the Red Savage Ranch slowly came awake.  The roosters began, cock-a-doodle-doing at the first rays of light, followed by the horses, nickering and snorting, and pawing at the floor of their stalls, impatient for breakfast.  The dogs were next, barking and running through the huge ranch house, waking the residents.

Ryuuen was having a great dream about winning a horse race, when something wet hit his face.  He moaned and turned over, knowing that it just _had_ to be too early yet.  The wet thing persisted, digging under his hand and hitting him in the chin.  Finally, he opened his eyes, and came face to face with a hairy beast with foul-smelling breath.

"Aaaah!" he screamed, jumping up.  In his haste to get away, however, his foot became tangled in his sheets and instead of jumping off the bed, he fell over and ended up halfway on the floor and halfway still on the bed.

Ranger, his big sheep dog, bounded off the bed and gave his master one more lick in the face, then trotted out of the bedroom.

Ryuuen groaned.  Getting his arms underneath him, he pushed himself up enough to untangle his foot, then crashed back to the floor.  Now free of his sheet bonds, he managed to stand up.  There was a rough knock at the door and a head was thrust through the opening.

"Ryuuen, are you... oh good, you're awake."  It was Red, the owner of the ranch, and Ryuuen's boss.  "Listen, I'm heading into the city to pick up our first batch of kids.  I need you to take care of the feeding and take Colt for a run.  His leg is healed, but if he doesn't get exercised, it'll stiffen up."

"You got it, Chief," Ryuuen said.

"Good.  I'll see you in a few hours."  Red moved to leave, but poked his head back in the door.  "Oh, and by the way, Serah made blueberry pancakes this morning, but if you don't get down in there in the next ten minutes, I'm sure Buck will have eaten them all."

"Thanks, Red," he called, after the man had left.

Ryuuen went to his dresser, ran a brush through his short violet hair.  His bangs grazed his forehead just above his eyebrows when he wasn't wearing his hat, which wasn't very often.  Buck had once mentioned that it was permanently attached to his head, and had threatened to check to see if he wore it to bed.  Ryuuen chuckled at that, then remembered the pancakes.  He thrust his feet into a pair of clean jeans, buttoned a plain white shirt over his tee shirt, threw on a pair of socks and his cowboy boots, his hat on his head, and ran downstairs for breakfast.

He made it to the kitchen just in time to see Serah flip two pancakes on a plate.  "Good timing, Ryu," she remarked, winking at him.  He walked over to her and she handed him the plate, whispering.  "I would have saved you some, anyway."

"You're a doll, Serah," Ryuuen said, walking his plate over to the table and sitting down to eat.  "Mornin' Buck."

Buck, the grey-haired, wisecracking, wrangler grunted and continued eating.  Ryuuen shook his head.  The man was so grumpy in the mornings.  It wasn't until after 3 cups of black coffee with a ton of sugar in it before he became sociable.  Ryuuen noted he was probably on cup two.  He dived in his pancakes, chewing slowly, savoring the taste.  Serah was the daughter of Trudy, the ranch's cook, maid, nurse, psychiatrist, and all-around wonderful woman.  She was also the hard-ass.  If something happened that Trudy didn't like, she told you about it, and she told you good.  Serah had been living at the ranch for a few years, and helped out her mother sometimes.  Her blueberry pancakes were the best in the county, and had actually won first prize at the county fair.

A petite girl of about 17, Serah had long light brown hair, usually kept in a sensible high ponytail, and light brown eyes.  She was slender, and only stood about 5 foot 2.

Ryuuen, himself, was only 5'6", and thin enough to be mistaken for a girl all too often.  Though he figured it was also the fact that he was gay that made the mistake happen.  His violet hair framed stunning rose-colored eyes, and a dark beauty mark resided under his left eye.  The darkness of it contrasted sharply with the pale color of his skin, creamy and blemish-free.  Hell, if he didn't know better, he'd think he was girl, too.

Realizing it was getting late, Ryuuen shoveled the rest of the food into his mouth, washed it down with a glass of milk, and ran out to the barn.

Red Savage Ranch, named after its owner, was home to nearly fifty horses.  Generally, Red and Ryuuen split the feeding duties, each doing half to cut down on time.  But as Red was on his way to the city, it was up to Ryuuen to feed all fifty of the horses.  He climbed the ladder to the hayloft and went along the stalls, dropping hay into each. That took nearly forty-five minutes, then he had to walk along the stalls, giving the horses their grain.  That was another half hour.  The final and most time-consuming was giving them water.  Ryuuen checked and was pleased to find that Red had done that before he left.

He walked to the first stall, where Colt was kept.  Colt was a pure black Tennessee walker, with only a blaze of white on his face.  Months ago, he had tried to jump the fence in the coral, and ended up going through the fence, getting a six inch long piece shoved into his right front leg.  Ryuuen had gotten him back to the barn, and had called the vet.

The piece of wood had severed a tendon, and the vet said that it would take three months to heal properly, so Colt was put under, as Buck so eloquently put it, "Barn arrest."  Last week, he had been let back into the pasture, and had gone crazy, running so much he exhausted himself.

Colt was finished eating, so Ryuuen placed the halter on him and lead him to the tack area.  The horse was a very spirited animal, and no one except Ryuuen had ever been able to ride him.  Red had given the horse to Ryuuen for his twentieth birthday six months ago, muttering that if no one else could ride him, he may as well be Ryuuen's.

Ten minutes later, Colt was saddled and ready to ride.  Ryuuen lead him outside, where he easily jumped and swung a leg over the saddle.  Picking up the reigns, Ryuuen kicked the horse into motion, starting out at a walk.

After only five minutes, however, Colt was ready to run.  Ryuuen could feel the animal's muscles twitching.  "Okay, Colt, let's go," he said, digging his heels into the horse's stomach.  Colt lurched forward, galloping with long, even strides.

As they ran across the fields, Ryuuen's mind wandered to the program that Red was trying to start.  The Native American was hell-bent on helping the underprivileged youth of America, and thought the best way to do was bring them to the ranch and turn them into cowboys.  Ryuuen laughed when he heard about it.  They would be teaching them how to ride, and work, and hopefully, at the end of a month, they'd be reformed and grow up as upstanding citizens.

Secretly, Ryuuen suspected that Red was doing it after losing his son.  Joseph had been Ryuuen's best friend, and was in the wrong place at the time.  He was killed by a kid the same age as he who was in a gang.  The other boy had thought Joseph was in a rival gang and pulled a knife.  That had happened five years ago, when Ryuuen and Joseph were 15.  Red bought the ranch, claiming he wanted nothing to do with the city that allowed his son to die.  Ryuuen moved there a year later after losing his parents and sister in a car accident.  Red had understood his pain, and they worked through it.  Ryuuen had a lot of anger when he came to the ranch.  But being around the animals, and the outdoors, had helped him displace it.

He grinned and kicked at Colt's ribs, urging the horse to go faster.

-----------

The man walked into the building, wrinkling his nose at the smell of perfume, cologne, and leather.  His black cowboy boots clicked noisily on the tile floor, but he didn't notice.  He was too busy staring back at the many businessmen and women that looked him as he walked past them.

"Mr. Silvercloud?"

He winced.  No one had called him that for such a very long time, but it was his legal name, so he turned and greeted the woman who had called him warmly.

"Yes," he said, smiling pleasantly.

The woman took in his appearance with a raised eyebrow.  Black jeans, light blue dress shirt, black tie that he couldn't stand to wear.  His long black was tied back in a low ponytail, streaming in a pin-straight fashion down to the middle of his back.  There was no mistaking the fact that he was a Native American.  Full-blooded, even.

"She's waiting for you, come this way."

The man followed, shaking his head at the obvious culture shock this young woman was experiencing.  She led him down the hallway, through a large oak door.  An older woman, nearer to his age, sat at a desk.  Her blond hair was pulled into a severe braid, and she wore a black pantsuit.

"Mr. Silvercloud, how do you do?  I'm Janice Murphy."

He reached out and shook her hand.  "Please, call me Red.  I haven't gone by Silvercloud for many years."

"Okay then, Red.  Now, I have to tell you.  When you came to us with this idea, everyone was skeptical that it wouldn't work.  Most have changed their minds, which is why you're being given this chance.  But so you and I are clear, I don't believe this will work at all."

Red plastered a polite smile on his face.  "May I ask why, Ms. Murphy?"

She seemed surprised at his question.  "Taking inner-city delinquents and throwing them on a ranch to learn about horses is hardly an effective means of rehabilitation."

"That's what this program is designed to do," Red explained.  "There's something calming about the great outdoors, and if I can get these kids to see that, then that may be a few more young ladies and gentlemen that are off the streets at night.  Now, your methods are obviously not working, what's the problem with giving mine a try?"

Janice seemed shocked that Red would dare question her methods.  "Mr. Silvercloud," she said, resorting to using his hated name.  "Be advised that you have one month to prove to me that this program works.  Come with me, and I'll introduce to your first four kids."

She rose from her chair and left the room.  Red followed, feeling more like smacking her than meeting his kids.  They walked down the hall and around a corner.  Janice stopped at a door, turned back to Red.  "Hope you're ready for this."

Pushing the door open, the two walked in.  Four teens sat at a large table, looking about as miserable as Red now felt.

Janice had four folders in her hands, so she opened one, and started reading.  "This," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "is Shun'u Kou.  Picked up for armed robbery, breaking and entering, and auto theft."

The boy who was Shun'u scoffed.  "It wasn't a fuckin' _car_, and if you call a single unlit match a fuckin' weapon, then I'm the Emperor of fuckin' China."

"He also has the foulest mouth of the bunch," Janice remarked.

Red chuckled at the boy's outburst, studied him.  He had fiery red hair that stuck out in a wild spikes.  His eyes were a feral, cat-like yellow, and seemed to take in everything, as if Shun'u was logging the room away to memory.  He wore jeans that were three sizes to large, held up by a belt, and a wife-beater shirt.  A tribal tattoo wrapped around his upper right arm, and on his left wrist was a black bracelet with metal studs in it.  This boy was definitely a street kid, not just some bad seed trying to look cool.  This kid _was_ cool.

Janice went on, dropping Shun'u's folder on the table and flipping open the next.  "Saihitei Seishuku.  Thought it'd be cool to take Daddy's limo out for a joyride at 3:00 in the morning, without a license, and completely drunk."

Saihitei sat straight in his chair, unlike the slouching Shun'u.  His hair was long, longer than Red's, and was a rich chestnut brown color.  He had honey-gold eyes, and they seemed to hold some indeterminable sadness to them.  He was wearing black slacks, and a navy blue shirt.  Red knew this was a pretty-boy, and couldn't wait to see him in the cowboy clothes Buck had gotten for the boys.

The young man said nothing, and completely avoided eye contact with both Janice and Red.

"Kishuku Sou.  Would do any kind of odd job for money, picked up for delivering illegal substances to dealers.  Wouldn't tell us who his boss is."

Kishuku grumbled something unintelligible, and folded his arms defiantly across his chest.  His dark blue hair was cut shorter than the others, and swept across his forehead.  Violet eyes glared out from under dark lashes, and his jaw was set firmly, as if to say, "No way in hell am I saying a thing to you."  Kishuku was wearing blue jeans and a dirty black tee shirt that said Led Zeppelin on it.

"And finally, we have Ayuru."

"Ayuru...?"

Janice shrugged.  "No last name.  Orphaned when he was a baby, has moved from foster home to foster home."

"Charges?" Red asked.

"You name it.  Theft, assault, once ran his foster brother over with a car because he called him a queer."

Inwardly, Red groaned.  If this boy was homophobic, then he'd have to keep him and Ryuuen separated, which was going to be a hell of a feat.  Ryuuen was a people-person, but he wouldn't put up with being called a queer.  Red also could see that Ayuru would be his trouble spot.  The quiet ones always were.  Blonde hair that fell just past his shoulders, blue eyes that were so cold they looked to be made from ice, this boy simply screamed "criminal."  He was wearing a pair of tan khakis and a black short sleeved button-down shirt with red flames coming up the front.

Janice and Red left the room, leaving the four to get their things together.

"They're a tough bunch," she told him.

"Yeah, no kidding."  Red shook Janice's hand.  "Ms. Murphy, thanks.  We'll see you in a month."

"Yeah," she replied, a smirk forming on her face.  "Unless someone's killed before then."

Red watched her walk away, praying to whatever god would listen that he could prove her wrong.  He sighed deeply, then walked back into the room.

"Get your things, and let's move."

None of the boys seemed too ready to do what he said, so he took a step further into the room, drew himself up to his full height, and bellowed.  "MOVE!"

The boys jumped up quickly, grabbing their things and following Red out the door.  Once outside, he led them to a truck.  "Throw your stuff in the back and get in," he said.

Kishuku tossed his bag in the back, climbed in the backseat of the extended cab.  Saihitei did the same.  Ayuru put himself in the front, but Shun'u stood outside the truck, a deep scowl on his face.

"What's the problem?" asked Red.

"No fuckin' way am I sitting with Captain Joyride and Delivery Boy," he said.

Red raised an eyebrow.  "Okay, then."  He grabbed Shun'u by the neck, threw his bag in the back of the truck, then tossed him in the back as well.  "Then you can sit back here, with Ranger."

Shun'u was met face-to-face with a huge hairy sheepdog.  He shrank back against the front of the bed, whimpering.  Ranger growled, but stepped forward and licked his face.

"Aaaaah!  Gross!" he screamed.

The ride back to the ranch took about six hours.  The entire six hours was filled with Shun'u in the back, muttering things about sitting in the bed with Ranger.  After the first hour, Red turned on a country-music station and turned up the volume, completely drowning out the young man's whining.

The other three rode in silence.

They arrived at the ranch just before sun down.  Red pulled the truck up beside the house, was greeted by Ryuuen, Buck, Serah, and Trudy.  He got of the truck, smiled.

"Well, they're here," he said.  "Let's go, out of the truck!"

The three guys in the front crawled out, but Shun'u was still sitting the bed, arms crossed over his chest.

"Shun'u, get out of the truck."

"Not until that mutt is gone."

"Ranger!  Here boy!" Ryuuen called.  The dog leapt out of the truck, tackled his owner.  Ryuuen fell backward, laughing, but stood up quickly to greet the new arrivals.

"This is Shun'u, Kishuku, Saihitei, and Ayuru," Red said, introducing the boys.  He turned to the rest of them.  "Boys, this is Buck, our wrangler, Ryuuen, a ranch hand, Trudy, our neighborhood everything, and Trudy's daughter Serah.  You'll meet Byrne later, he's the muscle of the operation."

The boys stood silently by the truck, and Ryuuen actually felt a little sorry for them.  Red looked at him, gave him a little nod.  "Ryuuen will show you guys where you're sleeping."

Ryuuen started walking away, and after a moment, the rest of the boys followed.  He led them to a guesthouse that sat right beside the main house, opened the door.  "There are four bedrooms.  No fighting over them.  They're all the same size, and they all have the same beds, so it's rather pointless.  Wake up call is six, breakfast is six thirty.  If you miss breakfast, you'll have to wait for lunch.  Tomorrow, you'll start.  Red wants you to wear the clothes Buck bought for you, whether you like it or not."  Ryuuen grinned widely, tipped his hat at the guys.  "Good night, gentlemen."

He started away from the house, but ran back when a loud crash was heard.  Throwing the door open, he ran inside, looking around.  "What happened?" he asked.

Shun'u was lying on the floor, a broken table beneath him, looking dazed.  Ayuru was standing over him, blue eyes narrowed to tiny slits.  "I owed him that," he muttered.

Ryuuen sighed in disgust, grabbed Shun'u by the collar and hefted him to his feet.  He turned to Ayuru then.  "Look, Ayuru, this isn't the city.  You can't go around beating people up, or you'll get your own ass kicked."

Ayuru smirked.  "By who... you?"

Ryuuen grinned back at him.  "By anyone here.  Byrne won't hesitate to beat the hell out of you, and if you think that just because I'm small means you can push me around, you have another thought coming."

The blonde man took another step toward Ryuuen, glared down at him.  "Is that a threat, cowboy?"

"Nope, it's the truth."

Ayuru looked amused, a slight glint in his eyes.  Feeling the need to test Ryuuen, he started to raise his hand.

He froze a second later, when a cold, horribly sharp object touched his throat.  Ryuuen was still smiling pleasantly.  "I haven't always been a cowboy, Ayuru," he said, before taking the pearl handled hunting knife and replacing it in its holster on his belt.  Turning back to Shun'u, who was touching his already bruising eye tenderly, he said, "Put some ice on it before you go to sleep, Shun'u, it'll be fine."

The fiery-haired boy growled.  "Don't call me that."

"Don't call you what?"

"Shun'u."

Ryuuen blinked.  "It's your name, isn't it?"

"Well, no shit, it's my given name," he said.  "But no one calls me that."

"Then what do they call you?"

Shun'u stood tall, a beaming smile on his face.  "I am Genrou, but most just shorten it to Gen."

Ryuuen stared blankly at him for a few moments.  "Fine then, Genrou... _all_ of you," he said, glancing around, "go to sleep.  You'll be working your butts off tomorrow, you'll need your rest."

He turned and walked out of the house, noting the rather shocked expression on Saihitei's face.  Ryuuen felt bad for him, wondering what it was he had done.  He certainly didn't _look_ like a delinquent.  His clothes were rather expensive looking, and he seemed extraordinarily nervous to be in the same room with the other three.

When Ryuuen reached the house, Buck was sitting on the porch, pipe sticking out between his lips.  "Are the natives restless, Ryuuen?" he asked.

"Eh... there was a slight problem concerning Ayuru... but I think it's taken care of."  Ryuuen looked back at the house.  "I'll be glad when Byrne comes back tomorrow.  He's much at keeping order than my scrawny butt."

Buck smiled.  "Keeping order, eh?  More like drilling an army!  That Byrne has an attitude a mile wide!"

Ryuuen started into the house.  "Be careful, Buck.  Those kids out there have worse."  As the screen door slammed behind him, he could hear Buck choking on the smoke from his pipe.

He swung by the kitchen, popping to see if Trudy or Serah were around.  He saw Trudy standing at the sink, head bouncing along as she hummed.  "Well?" she asked, without turning around.

Knowing better than to ask questions, Ryuuen sat down in one of the stools.  "They're city kids, all right.  Remind me a lot of myself and Joseph when we lived in the city."

Trudy turned around, handed Ryuuen a mug of tea.  "Your favorite," she said, winking at him.

Ryuuen took a drink, savoring the taste of homegrown mint mixed with mandarin orange.  "Thank you, Trudy."

She sat down across from him, folded her hands lightly on the counter.  "D'you reckon they'll be tough to handle?"

"Most definitely.  One already has a black-eye."

Trudy nearly fell off her stool.  "Good heavens!  Is he all right?"

Ryuuen shrugged it off.  "I told him to put some ice on it, he'll be fine.  He's got a mouth on him... but it's not him I'm worried about."

"Who are you worried about then?"

"Ayuru."  He took another drink of his tea.  "He seems so angry, but there's definitely something sad about him."

Trudy chuckled softly.  "You always were good at reading people.  Now," she added, whisking his empty tea mug over to the sink, "to bed with you.  You, Red, Buck, and Byrne have a long day tomorrow with those four."

Ryuuen yawned.  "Yeah... should be loads of fun.  'Night, Trude."

"Good night, Ryu, dear."

He climbed the stairs to his room and fell asleep almost immediately, exhaustion pulling at him.

TBC... (insert ominous music here^_~)


	2. Byrne

Disclaimers:  We all know this already!  They aren't mine, but the non-FY people are figments of my overactive imagination... ^_^

Author's Notes:  Yes, I know, the long awaited chapter 2!  I sowee... I had some problems ending this, but I think I got it to a happy with point with me... anyway... ya'll get to meet Byrne, finally!!!  He's my favorite character!!!  **cough** yeah, anyway... read on...

Red Savage Ranch

Chapter 2

~~~

Ryuuen woke early the next morning.  Taking advantage of the extra time, and remembering he didn't get one the previous night, he threw himself in the shower.  When he was done, he dressed quickly, and bounded downstairs.

The kitchen was nearly empty.  Trudy stood at the stove, frying bacon and other breakfast foods.

"Aren't they up yet?" he asked.

The older woman chuckled.  "Red and Buck are over at the house now.  And, uh... Buck hasn't had his coffee yet this morning."

Ryuuen cringed.  Nothing good could come from that.  He poured himself a cup of coffee, sat down at the table.  Red came into the house moments later, a satisfied grin on his dark face.

"Mornin', Chief," Ryuuen greeted.

"Beware," Red said, eyes twinkling.  "We're about to have 4 annoyed kids and one very pissed off wrangler at breakfast."

The purple-haired boy couldn't resist grinning.  He heard them coming... or rather, he heard Genrou complaining the whole way to the kitchen.

"Do you what fuckin' time of the mornin' it is?  And what the fuck is up with these clothes?"

"Shut the hell up and get moving!" came Buck's gruff voice.

The five stomped through the door, sat around the table.  Ryuuen smiled at them, but none of them seemed too thrilled to smile back.

Trudy called to Ryuuen.  "Come help me, honey."

She dished out the food onto plates, and Ryuuen placed one in front of each person at the table.  He sat back down, picked up his fork.  The rest of them stared at the food.

"What the hell are you waiting for, an invitation?" asked Buck.

They ate in uncomfortable silence.  Ryuuen took this time to study each of the kids.

Ayuru didn't look angry, but the expressionless look on his face worried Ryuuen a little.  He had torn the sleeves off the blue shirt he was given, and Ryuuen saw a tribal tattoo wrapped around his right arm.  His blond hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and the buckskin cowboy hate Buck bought for him was pulled low on his head.

Genrou was bent over his plate, shoveling eggs into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in ages.  He was wearing a short-sleeved, dark green shirt, unbuttoned with a white tank underneath.  His yellow, wolfish eyes glanced up, saw Ryuuen looking at him.  He glared, growled quietly, and went back to eating his eggs.

_Okay then... non-sociable,_ thought Ryuuen.  He moved on to study Kishuku.  He sat with a grumpy look on his face, picking at the scrambled eggs on his plate.  He was wearing a dark blue shirt, buttoned most of the way up.  The upper three buttons were undone, revealing a gold necklace with a cross hanging on his chest.

Saihitei looked extremely uncomfortable.  He sat upright in his chair, eating very little.  He wore a simple white, buttoned shirt, and his long chestnut colored hair hung loose down his back.  He kept attempting to adjust the black cowboy hat he wore, but finally gave and took if off, setting it on the table beside him, and smoothing his hair.  He looked up, caught Ryuuen's eyes in his amber ones, and held the gaze.

Ryuuen stared at him, at those eyes that looked like honey, those eyes that looked so sad.  A tentative smile tugged at his lips, and he allowed it to reach his eyes.  Saihitei looked surprised at first, but finally managed a small smile back.

When Ryuuen had finished eating, Red called to him.

"Go out and saddle up Honey, Tay, Colt, Pepper, Mama, and Nikki."

"Colt?"

Red's eyes sparkled with amusement.  "That's right."

Ryuuen nodded.  "You got it Chief."  He ran out to the barn, got out the horses.  To save time, he ran a quick brush over them, threw on the saddles and bridals.  He stroked Colt's nose, smiling.  "You ready to give some amusement today?"

The horse nuzzled Ryuuen's chest, something he did often.  Ryuuen heard commotion near the house, knew the guys were on their way to the paddock.  Grabbing the reins of the horses, he led them outside, and toward the waiting city boys, knowing that today would be a long day.

-------

"There are things you need to know when it comes to horses," Red said.  "For instance, always mount from the left side, and never sneak up on a horse.  All it will do is give you a hoof print on your forehead."

Ryuuen giggled, seeing the guys looked at the horses warily for the tenth time.  He sat on the fence, watching Red instruct them on the mechanics of horse riding.  As Red delved into how to stay on a galloping horse, Ryuuen heard the rapid approach of a horse behind him.  He turned, saw a sleek white horse coming up the hill, heading straight for the paddock.  A grin broke out on his face.  Byrne was home.

He leaped off the fence, running toward the white horse.  "Byrne!  You're home!"

The rider of the horse threw his leg over and jumped off while still at full gallop, losing his white cowboy hat in doing so.  "Ryuuen!"  He ran forward, embracing the purple-haired boy, grinning from ear to ear.

"Gah, it's been a long month, my friend," Ryuuen said.  "How'd Ghost hold up?"

Byrne released Ryuuen, looked at the white horse that stood at the watering trough, sucking down the water.  "He did great.  That horse saved my life a few times.  Ah, I see the city punks are here."  He reached down and grabbed his hat, walked with Ryuuen over to the fence.

Ryuuen grinned up at him, elated that his best friend was home.  Byrne had golden blonde hair, reaching to just above his shoulders.  His skin was deeply tanned, a product of working in the hot sun all the time.  He was slender, but rippling muscles ran all over his body.  Ryuuen noticed he had days-old stubble on his face.

"So," Byrne said.  "Who do we have here?"

Ryuuen climbed back on the fence to sit on the top slat.  "Well, that's Kishuku.  He got caught delivering drugs or something."

Byrne nodded.  "Stupid kid.  Who's the spazzy red-head?"

"Oh," Ryuuen laughed.  Genrou was trying to mount Pepper, and doing a terrible job  of it.  "That's Shun'u.  But he likes to be called Genrou.  He has an attitude as wide as the barn."

The blonde man chuckled.  "And who are the quiet ones?"

"The blonde is Ayuru.  He's the one that scares me.  Tried to test me last night at the guesthouse.  From what I heard, he's done a lot, and none of it's good.  The other one," Ryuuen trailed off for a moment, watching Saihitei walk up to Tay, stare the horse in the eye, then begin to stroke his tan face.  "That's Saihitei.  He doesn't belong here."

Byrne looked at Ryuuen, noted how he looked at the other boy.  "Doesn't belong here?  What do you mean?"

Ryuuen tore his eyes away from Saihitei.  "All he did was wreck his father's limo.  He's from a rich family, and they sent him to the juvenile authorities for crashing a car.  Something doesn't add up."

"Hmm," Byrne agreed.  "Seems pretty comfortable around horses."

Saihitei had mounted Tay with no trouble at all, was now walking the horse around the corral.  Ryuuen looked at Byrne, who winked and nodded his head at Colt.  Before he reached the horse, however, Red called to him.

"Ryuuen!  Bring Colt over here... and Byrne."

The purple-haired boy turned to Byrne.  "Time for your big entrance."

Byrne sighed melodramatically.  "The things I do for my fans."

The two walked over to Red, and Colt trotted up to Ryuuen without having to be called.

"Boys," said Red, "I want you to meet Byrne.  He's just returned from a month long cattle drive, and looks no worse for the wear."

Byrne beamed around at the guys, who all gave him a skeptical look.  "Yes, I know, I know.  I look like a California surfer-boy.  I assure you, I am not."

Genrou, lying sideways across Pepper, scoffed.  "All right then, _Cowboy_, tell me how the hell to get on this thing the right way!"

Byrne stepped over to Pepper, grabbed the red-haired boy by the waistband of his jeans and yanked him to the ground.  "First lesson," he said, addressing everyone, "is to put your foot in the stirrup _first_."  He turned back to Genrou.  "That, Genrou, will ensure that you don't end up sideways."

The other narrowed his eyes, then cried out when Byrne reached down and grabbed his left leg, shoving the foot in the stirrup.  "Then, you hold the saddle horn in your left hand, the back of the saddle in your right..." he said these, while he moved Genrou's hands to their to positions.  "And now, bounce."

Ayuru raised an eyebrow.  "Bounce?"

"Yeah," Ryuuen spoke up.  "For beginners, it's good to have a head start on jumping... so you bounce."

"Very good, Ryuuen!" Byrne said, sounding like a proud instructor.  "Yes, if you bounce, count to three, then jump, you can throw your right leg over the saddle and be seated atop the horse without difficulties.  Genrou, since you're already in good position... give it a try."

"Ahhh... all right," Genrou mumbled.  He bounced on the ball of his foot, flushing a crimson color.

"One...two... three!" Byrne counted for him.  On the three count, Genrou shoved off from the ground, moved his hand from the back of the saddle, and threw his leg over Pepper's back.  He missed the stirrup on the side, however, and nearly went crashing to the ground.  Byrne grabbed his leg, and righted him.  "Hey, Genrou, good job."

"Ha ha ha!"  Genrou grinned, exposing his fangs.  "Look at that, ya losers!  _I'm_ on a horse!  Wahahaha!"

Ryuuen shook his head, but couldn't help laughing at the fiery boy's jubilation.

When everyone had mounted a horse, Red led them around the coral, explaining the mechanics of reigning and starting and stopping.  Ryuuen broke away from the group, came up beside Saihitei.  "It looks like you've ridden before."

Saihitei looked at him, then shrugged.  "Yeah, my family has a stable.  I've been riding since I was a kid."

"Do you want a tour of the grounds?"

There was a long stretch of silence as Ryuuen's invitation hung in the air.  Saihitei looked around, then cast a wary glance at Ryuuen, who just smiled.  Finally, Saihitei sighed.  "Sure, why not?"

"Come on, this way," Ryuuen kicked Colt into a trot and started off across the fields.  Saihitei looked after him for a moment, confused.  Most people smiled at him politely, knowing that he was to be treated with respect, but Ryuuen smiled out of kindness.  It was a welcome change.  "Are ya coming?" Ryuuen called, paused at the top of a hill.

"Hyah!"  Saihitei urged Tay forward, took off at a run across the field to catch up with the purple-haired boy.

They rode in silence for a while, but Saihitei's curiousity got the best of him.  "Why?" he asked.

Ryuuen's head snapped up.  "Why what?"

"Why are you being so nice?"

An easy smile spread on Ryuuen's face.  "Well, you don't look very happy, and since I'm always happy, I thought maybe some of my irresistible cheeriness might wear off on you."

Saihitei blinked.  Whatever response he was expecting, it wasn't that.  Ryuuen was grinning, a sparkle in his rose-colored eyes.  "So," he said, talking as though they were best of friends, "what do you think of the ranch?"

"It's quite beautiful.  You do know that I'm a criminal, right?"

Ryuuen reigned in Colt, turned to face Saihitei.  "Don't ever say that, Sai.  You are not a criminal.  And you're forgetting, I used to live in the city myself... I've seen it all."

The passion with which Ryuuen said these words made Saihitei simply gawk at the young man.  He was a criminal, wasn't he?  He broke the law, disappointed his parents, though he had already done that before he wrecked the limo, hadn't he?

"Why did you get sent here, Sai?"

"I wrecked the limo," he said, a little too quickly.

Ryuuen nodded.  "Wrecked the limo..." he repeated.

The other man glared at him from under his hat.  "It's none of your business, you know.  You don't even know me."

The purple-haired boy pulled his hat off, squinted in the bright sun.  "I never said it was my business.  I was just curious.  Okay, so we don't know each other, and so far, you hate this place.  But I'm offering you someone to talk to, someone who's been there, seen it all, done a whole lot of things that weren't legal."  He shoved his hat back down over his head, steered Colt back toward the barn.  "Anytime, Sai... you can talk to me anytime."

Saihitei watched Ryuuen ride back toward the barn.  "Okay," he whispered.  A moment later, he kicked Tay in the ribs and galloped to catch up to Ryuuen.

When they got back to the corral, Red was still leading them around, but now they were all running.  Ryuuen saw Kishuku was sporting a black eye  and looking miserable, while Genrou was grinning.  "Hey, Byrne, what happened to him?"

Byrne smiled.  "Oh, uh... he kinda teased Mama a little while ago."

Ryuuen grimaced.  "You didn't explain to him how sensitive Mama is to teasing?"

The other man shrugged.  "Forgot."

He rolled his eyes.  "Yeah, sure ya did."

Byrne held up his hands.  "I did!"

They abandoned their friendly banter to dismount their horses, stretch their muscles.  Ryuuen looked over, saw Saihitei riding the corral with the others.  He caught his eye, gave him a reassuring smile.  To Ryuuen's surprise, he returned the smile, and gave him a little nod.

"Uh oh... does someone have a little crush?"

Ryuuen elbowed Byrne in the ribs.  "Jealous?"

He laughed.  "Dude, we haven't been together for a year... I'm cool."

"That's good to know, Byrne."

Red halted the boys, told them to dismount.  About that time, Trudy stuck her head out the door of the house.  "Lunch!" she yelled.

Red waved to her, then turned back to everyone.  "Okay, guys.  Take your horses back to the stable, take everything off them and groom them.  Byrne and Ryuuen... you'll oversee this."

The two groaned.  "Well, shit," Byrne said.  "Let's go, deviants."

Ryuuen grabbed the reigns of both Ghost and Colt, lead them toward the barn.  Byrne and the others followed.  As he walked, he sighed heavily.  _This is going to a long month._


	3. Genrou and Serah

Disclaimer: Obviously, since I'm posing on I don't own something. That something would be the characters from Fushigi Yuugi. The others… yeah, they're mine.

Author's Notes: Lo, and behold, I'm freakin' back! Can ya believe it? I know, I know. Losing your job and having all the free time in the world will do that to a person. So… here's hoping I'll actually be able to finish this one!

Chapter 3: Genrou and Serah?

Ryuuen did more laughing than actually helping with the grooming of the horses. Kishuku had his revenge on Genrou when the spazzy youth tried to clean Pepper's hooves, and ended up getting kicked in the chest.

"Not so damn tough, now, are ya?" he'd asked the red-head.

"Yeah, well at least _I_ don't have a black eye! Wahahaha!" Genrou shot back. The laughter died on his lips when Kishuku threw a brush at him and hit him in the head.

"And now, you have a lump."

Genrou snarled and leapt at Kishuku, knocking him off his feet. The two rolled around on the floor, startling the horses, until Byrne went over to separate them. Ryuuen relaxed when the two stood up, laughing.

"You're a weird one, Gen," Kishuku said, offering his hand.

"And you're ugly," the other replied, shaking it.

_Whew,_ thought Ryuuen, _crisis one averted._ Colt was already groomed and stabled, as was Ghost, Tay, and Nikki. The four were sedately munching on their hay, ignoring the clamor outside their stalls.

Byrne made his way over to where Ayuru was brushing Honey. "It goes a lot faster if you use long strokes," he told him, grabbing the hand that held the brush and demonstrating.

Ayuru jerked his hand away, kept his eyes on Honey. "Thanks."

"You're awfully quiet," Byrne told him.

"Is that a problem, too?" His voice was hard, and he was doing everything in his power to not look at Byrne.

"No, no problem," the other said, "just unusual around here, unless you try to talk to Buck before his coffee."

"Is that why he was so grumpy this morning?"

Byrne grinned, catching the attention of Ayuru's eyes. The cold, ice blue ones held the gaze of warm, glittering green. "Actually, he'd managed a cup, so be happy."

Ayuru snickered, half a smile forming on his lips, before turning back to Honey. "Is that good enough?"

The deeply tanned man shifted his attention to the horse. "Yeah, that's great. All she needs now is led back to her stall."

Ayuru held the halter, led honey down through the barn to her stall. When he closed the door, he leaned against it and watched the horse eat her hay.

Ryuuen came up behind Byrne. "Ah, I see he's taken a liking to Honey."

"That he has."

The shorter man looked up. "And I see someone else has taken a liking to him."

Byrne smiled, flushed pink. "Aw, hell, he's probably not even gay. That's the way my luck goes."

Ryuuen grinned, then clapped him on the shoulder. "Have faith, Byrne. You never know."

Ten minutes later, the grooming was done, the horses were content, and the six men were filing into the house, washing up one at a time at the sink. Red and Buck had already eaten, and were now sitting at the table, talking about the ranch.

"Those posts and the wire are gonna have to be fixed if we ever want to let those horses out to pasture again," Buck was saying. "It ain't right, keeping them cooped up in that barn in this weather."

"Yeah, you're right. Well, we can start that after lunch. We have some extra hands now," Red said, taking a long drink of his iced tea.

The others sat down at the table, and dug into lunch. Ryuuen noticed they ate much more than they had at breakfast, and there was more talking. He was sitting next to Saihitei, who was remaining quiet.

"Are we going to be fixing the fence?" he asked Red, keeping his eyes on his plate.

Red turned to look at him, surprised. "Yeah, we're going to tackle that after you all eat."

Genrou paused in his shoveling of food to fix Red with a stare. "You mean manual labor? Aw, fuck!"

"Did you think it'd be all fun and games?" Buck barked. "You're here to work, and work's what you'll do."

Genrou scowled, then went back to his eating.

"Is the fence electric?" Saihitei wondered.

"No," Red said, shaking his head. "It's barbed wire. Keeps the horses in, and one bump on the nose and they stay away from it. There's too much fence for it to be electric, plus I don't like it."

"Gen, you're such a pig," Kishuku remarked.

The yellow-eyed boy looked up at him, his fork hovering at his mouth. "What?" he asked, spraying him with food.

The other boy merely laughed. "Never mind."

Trudy clucked her tongue as she set more food down on the table. "I'm glad to see you're all in much better moods this afternoon," she said, grinning. She looked at Ayuru and Saihitei, "and hungrier." She shot Ryuuen a wink, then went back to the stove to begin clean up.

Serah came bustling into the kitchen, her blue jeans drenched from the knees down. "Red, the washer broke. It's gushing water all over the basement floor."

"Dammit," he swore.

Genrou looked up. "Washer? I can fix that."

Everyone stared at him. "What do you mean you can fix that?" Red asked. "How in the hell do you know how to fix a washer?"

"Because before I ran away from home, I used to do it all the time. It was my father's job and I used to help him."

"Good," Serah gripped him by the collar, hauled him out of his seat.

"Hey!" he protested.

"If you can fix it," she started, pushing him toward the door, "then you're going to. I'll get him out to you when he's done, Red."

Ryuuen started laughing out loud the minute Genrou's complaints faded away.

"Why are you laughing?" Saihitei asked him.

"Because he's gonna have Serah towering over him the whole time, trying to help, and he'll end up either punched in the nose or drowned."

Saihitei smirked at the mental picture, took one last gulp of iced tea.

"Okay, troops," Buck grunted, standing up. "We're about to go do some real work."

With a groan, everyone finished what they could of their lunch, and stood. Ryuuen drained his glass of iced tea before going out the door.

"Why does Gen get to stay behind?" Kishuku complained. "What makes him so special?"

Byrne clapped the younger man on the back. "Don't worry," he said. "He's in for much worse than you."

* * *

"Goddamn it, woman! Will ya stay out of my way?" 

"Well you're doing it all wrong! I thought you said you could fix it!"

Genrou eased his head out of the washer, fixed Serah with a glare. "I _could_ fix if _someone_ wasn't in my way!"

Serah glared back, crossed her arms over her chest. "I am _not_ in your way, Genrou. I'm simply trying to tell you that the problem is _behind_ the washer, not _in_ it!"

The red-haired man growled softly, then checked to look behind the washer. He cursed softly, then stood up. "We need to move it. I can't get back there with it up against the wall."

"Then let's move it," Serah said.

They stood on either side of the washer, and began to scoot it forward, away from the wall. Genrou was still in an ugly mood. He hadn't gotten to finish his lunch, his feet were soaked from the few inches of water still on the floor, and Serah was doing little to make things better.

He'd either kill her or kiss her before all was said and done.

With the washer moved, he crouched behind it and scanned the pipes for any problems. "Aha!" he chimed. "I found the problem!"

"Really? What is it?"

"It's leaking," he answered.

Serah rolled her wide, glorious light brown eyes. "No shit, brainiac. Did you come up with that all on your own, or did the _massive amount of water on the floor help you!_"

Genrou's head popped up over the top of the washer. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are when you're angry?" He grinned when she glared at him even harder, a light blush on her cheeks. "Can you hand me that wrench?"

She picked up the wrench, hefted it in her hand. When she reached over to hand it to him, the heavy object slipped out of her hand, landing squarely on top of his head.

He ended up on his back, in three inches of water, dazed.

Serah rushed over to him. "Good lord, are you okay?"

Genrou remained laying on the floor, but opened one amber eye. "You," he said, gritting his teeth, "did that on purpose."

"I most certainly did not!" she protested. Standing, she held out a hand to him. "Come on, up you get!"

He took the proffered hand, but instead of allowing her to help him up, yanked as hard as he could, bringing her down on top of him, and her face right into the water.

She lifted her head, sputtering and dripping. "I'm gonna kill you," she muttered, right before raising her fist to slug him. Genrou was faster and caught her wrist.

"Nah, you like me too much."

Eyes wide, Serah opened her mouth to say something along the lines of, "I do not," but the words were taken from her mouth as Genrou grabbed the back of her head and kissed her soundly on the lips. She was beyond flummoxed. She couldn't move, couldn't pull away. Hell, she wasn't even sure she wanted to. Then Genrou released her, and grinned cattily up at her. "See?"

Scoffing, she got to her feet, not before jamming her knee into his ribs, and waded away from the washer. "Get that thing fixed and then get out to the fence," she said, not looking over her shoulder.

Then he was alone. Whistling a tune, he turned back to the washer and began fixing it.

* * *

Ryuuen was sweating. The sun beat down, hot and merciless, on the seven workers as they mended the fence. All seven of them had stripped off their shirts, and Byrne had taken off his hat, replacing it with a red bandana.

The north sector of the pasture had an almost mile long area of fence that was down. The posts had long ago rotted, and an early season tornado had easily torn the barbed wire from the soft wood. Thankfully, Ryuuen thought, they didn't have to dig any post holes.

Their work was centered on clearing the old posts and wire so new could be brought in. Buck had driven the tractor out, hauling a trailer on the back to throw all the old wood and wire on.

Pausing for a moment's breath, Ryuuen looked around him. The boys were working without complaint, though their misery showed on their faces. Saihitei's, especially, looked grim. Lips compressed tightly, cheeks pale, Ryuuen wondered if he was going to pass out. He dragged a post to the trailer, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler. Opening it, he took a long drag as he walked back to the group.

"Sai," he called. The taller boy looked up, just in time to catch the water as it was tossed at him.

He looked at, then at Ryuuen. "Thanks," he said. He gulped at the cold water, then, with only a moment's hesitation, dumped some over the back of his neck. He tossed the bottle back to Ryuuen, who drained the rest of it, and gave the bottle pitch to the trailer.

"Everybody!"

Work stopped as Red called for their attention. He looked up at the sky, then around at the men. "We're quitting for the day. A storm's rolling in."

The three city boys looked up at the wide sky above them, confused. Ryuuen looked behind him at the horizon, saw the dark clouds building up. "Gonna be pretty wicked," Byrne muttered, throwing a rolled up line of wire onto the trailer.

"I see nothing," Ayuru snapped. "The sky's blue."

Byrne looked at him, then pointed toward the mountains. "See that?"

Ayuru looked. The mountains were a great distance away, but all he saw were mountains. "The mountains?"

"Yeah. Can't see where the mountains end and the storm begins, can ya?"

The blond shook his head.

"Keep watching."

The others did, as well, wondering what in the world they were to be watching. When a bright blue streak of lightning descended down the clouds to the actual tops of the mountains, Ayuru's eyes went wide. "I never noticed," he mumbled.

"Takes a while to get used to seeing it," Byrne told him. "Let's load up and get to the house. It'll be here in about an hour."

As if in answer, a rumble of thunder reached their ears.


End file.
